Guess we’re finally here! The Last of Us 2 has been released to the world, and the context that we were promised is now accessible to everyone! Yet, the anger and hate for “THAT” scene with Joel has reach an unprecedented height! Why is that? For those that are wondering, I’ll tell you! Spoilers ahead!
For fans of the first game, Joel was an expert survivor! Yes, he attributed most of it to luck, but he knew what he was doing half the time! He also knew that he was a wanted man, who robbed the world of their only cure for the plague/virus. He made enemies with the fireflies, with the world itself! He’s also someone that can anticipate a trap or an ambush. Going through that more than once gives you that experience! He knows not to trust someone in a world where everyone is out for themselves. He’s not naive. His senses also heightened when he bonded with Ellie, making him more aware of the risk he took! So for him to just state his name to complete strangers, knowing his a wanted man, seemed not only out of character, but down right dumb in a world where people want him dead!
Him being killed by an “alleged” Trans-woman is not the issue! In fact, considering that Joel is basically a “mass murderer”, and I use that term only because most of it was in self defense, every action has its consequence and I feel like The Last of Us 2 is highlighting that fact. To some “unique individuals” sure ” alleged trans women bad for killing my hero“, but for the rest of the fan base, it just didn’t add up! The narrative didn’t make sense and it felt out of line for Joel’s character! Heck, for Tommy too if I’m being honest! The moment he revealed their names to Abby, who they just met was wild to me! Still, that’s the whole point of talking and critiquing a story! We didn’t write it, it was never our story!
I get the outrage, but at the same time, that’s what happens when you follow a story, you have no idea how it’s going to play out. I know that people wanted grand death for Joel, something akin to Arthur from Red Dead Redemption 2, but the reality is, not everyone dies like a hero! I guess Naughty Dog wanted to show people how not all heroes get a happy ending, or a death worthy of a hero! However, the writing for that part just didn’t allow it to work! This kinda reminds me of Glenn from the Walking Dead! Personally, after he died like that I quickly lost interest in continue on watching and eventually dropped the show.
Many in the community will debate this for years to come! Some will see the criticism as bigoted, phobic and whatever you can throw in the flames of words, and that’s fair, but you gotta remember, this was Naughty Dogs’s vision! For better or worse, they wrote the story THEY wanted! Think about it, when you read a book or watch a movie, you have no idea how it’s going to end, but once you get there you can decide how you feel!
Nobody likes to see their hero die, we all want the best for a legend, but sending death threats, cancelling the studio is immature! Just share your honest opinion, talk among your community and move on! If the whole world can move past Games of Thrones and Star Wars, then this will be no different! It’s just a shame that now, in this day and age, the media will try and make it seem like the game is being hated on because of an alleged trans-woman killing Joel, and to an extent, that hold some merit but even I can tell they kinda missed the ball with how they wrote his end! Fan are allowed to criticize at the very least, they both the game after all!
Anyways, let me know what you guys think!
